O Pioneers!
Book description
At the turn of the twentieth century. When their father dies young, exhausted by the failure of his attempts at agriculture, it is left to the visionary Alexandra to guide the family to prosperity and safeguard the fortune of her brothers. Strong-willed and fiercely independent, she succeeds against all odds,…
Why read it?
2 authors picked O Pioneers! as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
It is impossible to separate Cather’s heroine Alexandra Bergson from the Nebraska prairie she farms.
Alexandra’s character mirrors the land she, as the eldest child, inherited from her father and which she devotes her life to working. When other families give up, sell off, and move on, she doggedly remains through harsh winters and, against all likelihood, prospers as an unmarried woman managing a vast expanse of land.
Like the land, she remains both knowable and unknowable, at once harsh and majestic.
Possessing an external manner that is reticent, internally hers is an indomitable spirit. She is among the most…
From Eleanor's list on classics featuring exceptional female protagonists.
How can you resist a title with an exclamation mark! This feminist eco-classic has Alexandra Bergson as its central character – a frontier farmer who wears a man’s long coat and carries it off “like a young soldier” – and who seems to have a more intense relationship with the land than with other human beings. She is not the flashiest of heroines but she burrowed her way into my imagination: tireless, patient, persevering, and mysterious.
From Chris' list on the American West with female central characters.
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